RIL plans to build Rs 25k cr western rail freight corridor

Piyush Pandey, TNNSep 20, 2006, 12.59am IST

MUMBAI: The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group is toying with the idea of participating in the development of freight corridors. These freight corridors, linking the Golden Quadrilateral and its diagonals, are expected to cost a total of over Rs 2,00,000 crore.

RIL plans to build the western rail corridor connecting Delhi-Mumbai, which would cost between Rs 25,000 crore and 30,000 crore.

"We are interested in developing the western freight corridor in partnership with the Railways. This corridor would be instrumental in transporting goods manufactured at our Haryana SEZ to the Rewas port, from where it would be exported to the overseas market," a Reliance official told ET.

The construction of the western corridor will be between Tughlakabad and Jawaharlal Nehru port, and the eastern corridor (Delhi-Kolkata) will actually be between Ludhiana and Haldia via Sonnagar. This rail corridor is expected to pass through RIL's SEZ in Haryana and connect with its proposed Rs 30,000-crore SEZ in Navi Mumbai and Rewas port.

The railways has also proposed four dedicated freight corridors for the 12th Plan in partnership with private players. These are Delhi-Chennai, Howrah-Delhi, Kharagpur-Vijaywada and Chennai-Goa. These corridors are expected to have diversions to different directions.

The Railways is in the process of inviting private players for developing these capital-intensive projects within the next two months. These projects are expected to be implemented in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) basis. RIL plans to incorporate a new company to take up this project.

As a part of the project, private players are expected to do the upgradation of locomotives and EMUs, track renewal to support higher axle load, construction of lighter wagons to reduce dead freight, construction of new railway bridges to withstand higher axle load, improved signalling and communication, and anti-collision devices.

According to railways, construction of these corridors will not only meet the increasing demand for freight traffic but also relieve the existing rail lines for more passenger traffic.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected lay the foundation stone for the first phase of the freight corridor project in Mumbai next month.